Challenges of researching showering routines...Simple daily showering Attentive cleaning Age band,...
Transcript of Challenges of researching showering routines...Simple daily showering Attentive cleaning Age band,...
Challenges of researching
showering routines
Karen Simpson - UWE
Water stress in the UK
Water stress
Increasing populationClimate change adaptation -
weather extremes (floods &
droughts)
Increasing demand -
lifestyle & household size
Environmental
needsClimate change
mitigation –
energy efficiency
Showering = >25%
Energy Saving Trust (2013)
Averages mask complex variation
UKWIR (2016)
Research aim
To explore
the variation/complexity of showering routines of young
adults, and
the efficacy of water conservation interventions,
to inform future domestic water efficiency programmes
The laboratory - downstairs
Upstairs - shower rooms
Occupancy – participant demographics
House Beds (void) Gender (F:M)
Nationality (UK, EU, non-EU)
Age(18-22, 22-29)
Gym
A 8 8:0 1, 0, 7 3, 5 5
B 8 4:4 7, 0, 1 8, 0 2
C 8 8:0 0, 0, 8 7, 1 4
D 10 5:5 5, 0, 5 6, 4 2
E 10 (2) 5:3 6, 0, 2 7, 1 4
F 8 8:0 5, 2, 1 8, 0 2
G 8 4:4 5, 2, 1 8, 0 2
H 10 3:7 8, 2, 0 9, 1 4
I 10 4:6 8, 2, 0 9, 1 7
J 8 4:4 7, 1, 0 7, 1 3
Total 88(80 bedrooms,
40 showers)
53:33(62:38%)
52, 9, 25(61, 11, 29%)
72, 14(84, 16%)
35(41%)
Conventional water-saving interventions
House A & B House C & D House E & F House G & H House I & J
Nil - control Posters Shower timers Amphiro a1 Face-to-face
Quantitative data collection
• Fixtures audit summer 2017
• Quantitative data at different scales (Jan-Mar 2018)
• per household consumption at 30 minute intervals (BMS meters)
• shower events component via 500ml pulses (Siloette loggers)
• Occupancy/demographics data
Qualitative data collection
• Survey (Oct 2017) on showering routines – 158 responses
• 2-week shower diaries (21 Feb – 07 Mar 2018) – 26 participants
• 5 focus groups (Mar 2018) – 22 participants
• Survey (Mar 2018) – 19 responses
Total = 34 individual participants (34% of target population)
Stakeholder workshop (May 2018) – 8 participants
Browne et al (2013) Patterns of water
Showering ‘practice’ =
how THINGS are done
Simple daily showering
Attentive cleaning
Age band, years
(number of cases in
that age band)
Survey results - clusters
0 10 20 30 40 50
3 min4 min5 min6 min7 min8 min9 min
10 min12 min15 min20 min25 min30 min35 min50 min60 min
Frequency Timing
Duration
26 diary participants/348 events confirm profiles
Number of products
Most common combination:
1. x2 Shampoo once & wash body
[28/34]
2. x3 Shampoo once, condition &
wash body [25/52]
3. x4 Shampoo once, condition,
wash body & shave [19/36]
Oct 2017 survey
participants
participants
Number of in-shower
activities
Diaries - time of day
% By participant By event
Night-time 00:00 – 05:59 hrs 4 5
Morning 06:00 – 11:59 hrs 27 36
Afternoon 12:00 – 17:59 hrs 31 25
Evening 18:00 – 23:59 hrs 38 34
‘Attentive cleaners’
‘Simple daily showering’
Early results
Practice clusters
Posters – unlikely to reduce water consumption.
• Sharing a shower – risks changing the meaning/unlikely to be
functional!
• Peeing in the shower – legitimise what already do!
Shower timers
• Only 3 participants across study recorded average durations of
<5mins (none in houses E & F that had the shower timers)
• Participants with timers - 2/5 managed some (up to half) showers in
<5 minutes (average 6-8 mins), but 1 participant spent between 18-
43 mins!
Amphiro
• Liked by Focus Group (mostly male) participants
• Slightly shorter showers (despite reduced flow from device)
Face-to-face
• Shortest shower durations (self reported)
The practical challenges of researching
private routines in a messy world
• Multiple datasets to combine – messy social world
• Fixtures – change, timing of audits
• Business Management System meters – reliability/accuracy
• Siloette loggers/splitter cables – BMS OR components (not both)
• Gender balance between methods, Researcher bias
• Diaries – handwriting, time of day recording, participant fatigue
• Focus groups - recruitment, transcription, allocation of speech to
individuals
• No water, no pizza, no audio!
• Timing – impact of student exam/assignment period
Next steps
• Complete data analysis using ISM model
• Fix meters & Siloette loggers
• Prepare programme of potential future interventions spanning ISM
contexts
• Audit immediately before next round of fieldwork – things change!
• Test sub-set of interventions in Oct 2018
Individual Social Material
Factors held by individual
that affect choices and
behaviours.
Includes values, attitudes &
beliefs, and calculations or
evaluations made before
acting.
Factors beyond the
individual in the social
realm.
Shared understandings,
norms and meanings.
Networks & relationships,
and institutions that
influence how groups of
people act.
Factors ‘out there’, in the
environment and wider-
world, that constrain or
shape actions.
‘Hard’ infrastructures,
technologies and
regulations.
‘Soft’ influences e.g. Times
& schedules of everyday
life.
AcknowledgementThe International Water Security Network is funded by
Lloyd’s Register Foundation, a charitable foundation helping to protect life and property by supporting engineering-related education, public engagement
and the application of research. For more information, see: www.lrfoundation.org.uk
www.watersecuritynetwork.orgwww.twitter.com/water_network
Thank you